Buddhist Monks
Tash and I awoke at 5:30am so that we could participate in the daily alms giving ceremony, but when we tried to leave our hostel we ran into a problem... the hostel gate was closed and locked. It's considered incredibly rude to interrupt the ceremony once the procession has commenced, so Tash and I needed to figure out a way to get there and fast! We tried the side gate but it was also locked, so we ended up having to scale the fence. It wouldn't have been an issue if this fence had been a traditional wood post fence, but this fence was made of iron spikes. Did I mention that when attending an alms giving ceremony the givers must dress according to buddhist teaching, so shoulders and knees must be covered? So not only were we scaling a fence made of iron spikes, but we were doing so in dresses. One more thing: the ceremony begins at dawn, so Tash and I were scaling the iron spiked fence, in our dresses, in the dark. A girl from our hostel came out, took one look at the two of us, turned and headed straight back inside. Woof. That was one for the books.
Once we made it over the fence we had to book it to the main road to buy our alms and get situated before the procession started. We bought sticky rice and banana leaf wraps. We then kneeled on the sidewalk and waited for the monks. The monks have big silver containers that they hold out while they walk; almsgivers are to put their offerings in the containers without looking directly in the eyes of the monks. These offerings help the monks make merit and provide food for their one meal of the day.
I had been sick the night before and felt another wave of sickness coming on. I needed to get back to the hostel, and I needed to get there fast. I took off in a run and the whole time all I could think was "if I have to scale the fence again I'm not going to make it". As I rounded the corner I saw not only that the iron spiked fence was open, but that the monks were processing right in front of our hostel. Almsgivers were kneeling right where the fence had been...
Bamboo Bridges
Tash and I visited the bamboo bridge that crosses the Nam Kahn River. The charge to cross the bridge is 5,000 kip, or 61 US cents. This money goes toward rebuilding the bridge each year. The bridge only exists 6 months of the year; during rainy season the bridge is removed because otherwise the currents would sweep it away. Each year, a Laos family rebuilds the bridge so that locals and tourists can cross the river. Although they say the bridge is incredibly sturdy, I was not a fan of walking across the shaky, bamboo slatted bridge.
Bowling
Luang Prabang Nightlife consists of bars and restaurants that stay open until 11pm. Once they close, everyone goes to the bowling alley! Late night bowling is one of the most popular things to do in Luang Prabang, so Tash, myself and twelve others from our hostel crammed into a tuk tuk and headed for Vangvieng Bowling Center. There are no bowling shoes here, just cheap beers, squatty potties and bad music. A good time was had by all!
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